Fumigation plays an essential role in protecting crops, stored products, and ensuring compliance with export standards. This process involves the use of gaseous pesticides, or fumigants, to exterminate pests within an enclosed area. Despite its critical importance, fumigation faces numerous challenges and requires innovative solutions to make it safer, more efficient, and environmentally sustainable, says Vishal Shetty, CEO, Pest Mortem India Pvt. Ltd
Challenges in Fumigation
Health and Safety Challenge: Fumigation uses toxic chemicals that pose significant health risks, necessitating strict safety protocols and adherence to regulations to protect workers and inhabitants. Improper residential use, despite restrictions to industrial applications, has led to recent fatalities, highlighting the critical need for meticulous management and monitoring of fumigation processes.
Additionally, there have been instances of illegal manufacturers producing these fumigants and selling them on the black market, contributing to the aforementioned tragedies.
Therefore, it is crucial to enforce strict control over the entire supply chain to prevent such accidents in the future.
Environmental Challenge: Traditional fumigants like methyl bromide are effective but harm the ozone layer. International agreements like the Montreal Protocol have phased out these chemicals, prompting the need for eco-friendly alternatives. Despite decades of research, a viable commercial alternative is still unavailable. Companies are developing recapturing technologies, but they are not yet viable on a large scale.
Resistance Development: Over time, pests have developed resistance to common fumigants, diminishing their effectiveness. Proper monitoring and adoption of new fumigation strategies are essential to ensure effective insect population control, utilizing methods like pheromone traps and insect vials.
Regulatory Compliance: The fumigation industry faces stringent regulations, including the requirement to operate within 100km of the licensed location. Navigating these rules can be complex and expensive, especially for time-sensitive export and import segments. Consequently, many new companies have cropped up which issue certificates without actually fumigating cargo, particularly for wooden packaging material exempt from phytosanitary certification.
Logistical Challenges: Fumigation, such as those of grain silos, food plants etc requires sealing off large areas or structures, which is logistically challenging and highly labour intensive. Health and safety of those involved also become a key consideration. Ensuring that the entire space is treated uniformly without any leakage or exposure is critical to the success of the operation albeit an extremely difficult task.
Technological Challenge: Given that fumigation is a highly labour-intensive process and requires repeated monitoring, there have been no major technical advancement in this segment such as automated monitoring or disbursal of fumigant which could reduce labour challenges and time consumption as yet.
Recognition Challenge: Fumigation may be a relatively small segment of the pest management industry, but the entire pest management sector lacks industry status and recognition in India. Despite years of effort to achieve this recognition, pest management companies remain unrecognized as a distinct industry. This is particularly concerning given that pest management is crucial for public health. Currently, it is grouped with various unrelated services, construction for example, for tendering purposes in India.
Innovations in the Market
1. Eco-Friendly Fumigants: To address environmental concerns, new fumigants with minimal toxicity and environmental impact are being developed. Ethanedinitrile (EDN) is an alternative to methyl bromide for timber as it is not a greenhouse gas.
2. Controlled Atmosphere Technologies: This involves increasing carbon dioxide levels or reducing oxygen levels within a sealed environment, to control pest populations without the use of toxic chemicals. This method is particularly advantageous for treating organic food products and stored grains.
3. Phosphine Generators: Advances in technology such as phosphine generators have made it possible to fumigate and de-gas phosphine in much reduced time periods. These systems adjust fumigant release and ventilation, improving efficiency and safety while reducing labour cost and time.
4. Heat Treatment: Heat treatment has emerged as an effective non-chemical method for pest control that involves raising the temperature of the targeted area to a level that is lethal to pests. This method is gaining popularity for its safety and environmental benefits, particularly in the treatment of wooden structures and products.
5. Recapture Technology of Methyl Bromide: Some companies are experimenting with MBr recapture technology to reduce the amount of methyl bromide gas entering the atmosphere after de-gassing. This development will be key until a complete replacement for MBr can be identified.
6. Integrated Pest Management (IPM): Combining fumigation with other pest control methods, IPM strategies aim to minimize chemical use while maximizing effectiveness. This holistic approach includes sanitation, structural repairs, and biological controls to create a comprehensive pest management plan.
7. Regulatory Innovations: On the regulatory front, there is a growing emphasis on having international standards for fumigation. Organizations such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA) have developed standards of uniform processes across the world. GAFTA has also developed an accreditation scheme to this effect. These efforts should create regulatory environment for businesses operating across borders.
8. Educational and Training Programs: Innovations are also being seen in the realm of education and training. All stakeholders such as plant and warehouse in-charges are being trained w.r.t IPM procedures to improve results. Certain companies have plans to modernize the training programs from their current archaic moulds. These immersive training programs can significantly improve the preparedness and competence of workers, reducing the risk of accidents.
In conclusion, as these innovations advance and become commercially available, they will help address the outlined challenges. Involving industry experts in facility design will further mitigate infestation issues. Regulatory bodies must also actively address the industry’s concerns. Optimizing the system for the desired results requires all stakeholders to work together in synergy.
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